Each week, Glenn Hasek, publisher and editor of Green Lodging News, will address the hottest industry topics. Sometimes hard hitting, his column will challenge the industry’s leaders to take action. At other times, he will lift up the industry’s environmental champions. “Point of View” is a column you will not want to miss. To contact Glenn Hasek, call (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at: editor@greenlodgingnews.com.

Publisher's Point of View

Each week, Glenn Hasek, publisher and editor of Green Lodging News, will address the hottest industry topics. Sometimes hard hitting, his column will challenge the industry’s leaders to take action. At other times, he will lift up the industry’s environmental champions. “Point of View” is a column you will not want to miss. To contact Glenn Hasek, call (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at: editor@greenlodgingnews.com.

As part of this year’s Green Lodging Trends Report, Greenview and Green Lodging News asked hoteliers if an ozone laundry system is in place for laundry operations. Seven percent said yes; 6 percent said they plan to get such a system. In the survey for the report we also asked the following question: “If you considered an ozone laundry system but then later decided against it, what was the biggest obstacle(s) to its implementation?” They all said cost. That common answer struck a nerve because I have written about ozone systems before and know that the return on investment...

As reported on Green Lodging News last week, Greenview and Green Lodging News just released the Green Lodging Trends Report 2017. Many of you may have taken a look at the report already. If you have not already done so, you can access it here. Not included for the most part in the Trends Report were replies to open-ended questions and other comments. I would like to share some of them with you here.
Q: How do you celebrate your successes for moving your property toward greater efficiency? Please describe.
A: Every year celebration for rewarding the most efficient employees.
A: Inform...

I am excited to announce the publication of the second annual Green Lodging Trends Report—the result of a collaboration between Greenview and Green Lodging News. The second annual report details the results of the Green Lodging Trends Report Survey and is available at no cost by clicking here. Be sure to read this 56-page report and share it with your colleagues!
The report is based on data from 2,093 hotels in 46 countries and provides industry trends on topics ranging from energy management to communication to—for the first time in its own category—Health & Wellness. The report includes results of...

Will our industry pass one of its biggest tests ever? To show compassion to the victims of the storms currently hitting the United States one after the other? I hope it will. As mentioned on Green Lodging News this past week, Wynn Resorts donated $7.5 million to the victims of both Hurricane Harvey and Typhoon Hato. Clean the World Foundation and Guest Supply partnered to provide 60,000 hygiene kits and linens to Hurricane Harvey victims in Houston. In Texas, many hotels have lowered rates for storm victims. (Unfortunately, one hotel tripled its rates.)
All of our industry’s companies should step up...

Be sure to read my article this week that provides an update on the 20+ state and city level green certification/designation/recognition programs. I try to take a close look at our list on an annual basis. I almost always delete a program from my list. This year I deleted Rhode Island after not hearing back from their program’s representative. Their website, still “live”, has not been updated in two years and lists events from five years ago. Yikes. In recent years I have not been adding to my list. I still believe there is a lot of value in...

It was a year ago that I first wrote here about the launch of Kind Traveler. For those of you not familiar with the hotel booking platform, the way it works is simple: travelers give a $10 nightly donation to a local charity that positively impacts the neighborhood they are traveling to, or to a charity of choice; as reward for their donation, travelers unlock an exclusive hotel rate and special perks with curated hotels and unique properties throughout the United States, Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, and Costa Rica. According to Jessica Blotter, CEO & Co-Founder of Kind Traveler,...

Greenview has just released its fourth annual Green Venue Report. I highly recommend reading through this very comprehensive 82-page document. You need not have meeting space to benefit from it. The 2017 Green Venue Report: The State of Convention and Exhibition Center Sustainability compiles data from 66 convention and exhibition centers across 16 countries and four continents (a 50 percent increase from 2016). The report is packed with examples of best practices, three-year trend graphics, and comparisons of green performance over a wide range of areas, including: energy efficiency, waste management, water usage, food and beverage services, cleaning practices,...

A number of years ago, while walking what was then called the International Hotel, Motel + Restaurant Show, I came across a company that had developed a system to recycle and reuse water from a shower. I don’t recall ever seeing that company again. Perhaps it was a technology that was just ahead of its time.
If you do some online searching today, you will find some companies with systems that cleanse and filter shower water for reuse for toilet flushing. I have occasionally come across these types of systems.
Greywater, the relatively clean waste water from showers, baths, sinks, washing...

If you visit the “Wind Powered” section in the “Renewable Energy All Stars” part of the Green Lodging News website, you will find 15 U.S. properties listed. One of those listed is the Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort in Hancock, Mass. I first posted an article about the property back in 2008 when it marked the first anniversary of its 1.5-megawatt wind turbine. According to a spokesman for the property in 2008, the resort’s owners expected they would recover their $4.2 million investment in about eight to nine years based on the electricity rates at that time.
Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort...

Let’s call it one of the most important announcements ever made by a hospitality company. This past week, Vail Resorts, Inc. unveiled its “Epic Promise for a Zero Footprint”. Announced to employees at a company event, the plan commits to zero net emissions by 2030, zero waste to landfill by 2030 and zero net operating impact to forests and habitat. Vail Resorts created a special website for its plan as well as a video that opens with Chairman and CEO Rob Katz discussing the “Epic Promise”. Be sure to visit the website and watch the video.
How does Vail Resorts...